Two weeks after tackling and disarming a terrorist during the mass shooting at Bondi Beach, Ahmed al-Ahmed said he’s haunted by the lives he couldn’t save.
In his first interview since being wounded in the attack, the Syrian-born shopkeeper told CBS he’s still reliving the moment he confronted the attacker to stop the bloodshed.
"My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being's life and not killing innocent people," he said. "I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost."
In the interview, set to air in full later Monday, al-Ahmed described the struggle in detail. "I jumped in his back, hit him. I hold him with my right hand and start saying a word, you know, like to warn him, drop your gun, stop doing what you're doing, and it's come all in fast," al-Ahmed said, recalling trying to pry the weapon from the terrorist's hands.
"And emotionally, I'm doing something, which is I feel something, a power in my body, my brain ... I don't want to see people killed in front of me, I don't want to hear his gun, I don't want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help, and that's my soul asking me to do that."
The attack took place during a Hanukkah by the Sea event organized by the Chabad community in Sydney near Bondi Beach, attended by about 1,000 people. Two terrorists, Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24, opened fire from a nearby overpass at the crowd. The father was killed at the scene, and the son was seriously wounded and arrested. ISIS flags and improvised explosive devices were found in their vehicle.
Fifteen people were killed, including Chabad emissaries, senior citizens and a 10-year-old girl. Dozens more were wounded. Australian authorities described the attack as the deadliest terror incident in the country in three decades.
Al-Ahmed immigrated to Australia from Syria in 2006. His parents said that he had been drinking coffee with a friend near the site before the attack. When he heard gunfire, he saw the gunman Sajid Akram hiding behind a tree. He approached him from behind, managed to wrest the rifle from his hands and fought with him. When the father fled, the son, Naveed, shot al-Ahmed, wounding him in the shoulder.
Within days of the attack, more than $2.5 million was raised for al-Ahmed. The crowdfunding campaign was launched by social media users and drew thousands of donations and emotional responses from around the world. Donors described the effort as an extraordinary act of civic solidarity and called for courage and humanity to be recognized and rewarded.